The first and only female Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam

The Ministry of National Education, now the Ministry of Education and Training, was established in the early days of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Since then, there have been 13 ministers assigned to lead the education and training sector, but only one is a woman. That is Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh, whose birth name was Nguyen Chau Sa, was born in 1927 in Gia Dinh (Saigon) into a family of patriotic intellectuals. From a young age, she soon showed a deep patriotism and hatred for imperialism.

In 1943, at the age of 16, she actively participated in the student movement against the colonial regime. After the August Revolution in 1945, she officially entered the revolutionary path, joining the Women's Association for National Salvation and the predecessor organizations of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam.

During the resistance war against the French, she worked in the South and was imprisoned by the colonial government from 1951 to 1953. Despite the torture and harsh imprisonment, she remained steadfast and steadfast in her revolutionary ideals. After her release from prison, she continued her underground activities and was assigned to foreign affairs, a field that would make her name and her great legacy.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh when she was young. (Photo: Archive)

During the period 1969-1976, as Minister of Foreign Affairs , Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh was one of the typical symbols of revolutionary diplomacy.

She was the Head of the delegation of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam at the Paris Conference (1968-1973), playing a decisive role in leading to the Paris Agreement on January 27, 1973, ending the US military intervention in South Vietnam, paving the way for the victory in the spring of 1975, unifying the country. She proved that intelligence, courage and ingenuity can change the course of history.

After the country was unified, she became Minister of Education (1976-1987), then Deputy Head of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee (1987-1992). From 1992-2002, she was Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In the speech "Revolutionary Nguyen Thi Binh and her contributions to Vietnamese education" by Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Xuan Nhi, former Deputy Minister of Education and Training at the Workshop on the Tradition of Respecting Teachers in the Flow of Vietnamese Culture, he emphasized that when Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh became Minister of Education and Training, the country had just been unified for more than a year, there were still many difficulties, and education in the North and South was very different.

The education system in the North is 10 years, serving the cause of building socialism. Meanwhile, the education system in the South is 12 years, having been influenced by the new colonial education system for many years. The number of illiterate people in the South in the newly liberated areas is up to 95% of the population. The important task now is how to integrate the education systems of the North and the South in all aspects.

At that time, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh proposed many policies and measures to quickly unify the education system of the North and the South. In just 2 years, illiteracy was eliminated for 1.4 million people, accounting for 95% of the number of illiterate people left over from the old regime.

In particular, she paid attention to building many Pedagogical Universities to train preschool, primary and secondary school teachers. With many creative policies and measures, education in the South has kept up with the development of education in the North.

The former Minister of Education paid great attention to the work of building a team of teachers from kindergarten to university. She advocated decentralization to localities to open schools to train teachers for kindergarten, primary and secondary schools. At the same time, she paid special attention to the issue of education in mountainous and disadvantaged areas. Many of her policies in many areas of education are still meaningful today and in the future.

According to information from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Office of the President has submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister to consider and submit to the President the title of Labor Hero to Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh. This is to honor Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh's great contributions in the field of foreign affairs, especially in her position as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Revolutionary Government from 1969 to 1976.

Kim Anh

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/female-minister-of-education-and-training-first-and-most-prestigious-of-viet-nam-ar959582.html